Councillors in Toekomsrus have been inundated with calls from dissatisfied residents about a road project that had gone wrong.
Councillors Pule Ramphore and Hullet Hild told the Herald they have received many complaints following the ‘rehabilitation’ of Asteroid Street. They believe it has done more harm than good. The project is estimated to have cost millions.
Hild said he forwarded the complaints to the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) and even raised the matter during council meetings, but still to no avail.
“The situation is tense. Residents are no longer talking because they are frustrated. Their driveways have been ruined,” Hild said.
“It is a shame that the work was done so badly. Most properties’ pavements were lifted and never restored, while other parts of the road were left uneven. In other cases, some of the bricks weren’t replaced, but some residents have patched the spaces with concrete themselves, just to be able to drive into their properties. Most of the affected people are unemployed, so now they are faced with the burden of spending the little money they have to fix their driveways,” Hild said.
He added that he feared that the soil where the paving was lifted would be washed into the drains and block them when it rains.
Ramphore added that he declined an invitation to the official relaunch as he disapproved of the quality of the work that was done.
“We also live here. We make submissions at every council meeting, but we never get a response. We are always the bearers of bad news because we cannot give the community any answers,” he concluded.
